Plan crash: Time to bid farewell to Noida airport dream?

It seems like Noida's wait for an international airport will continue. For the third time in two years, hopes for the proposed international airport in Jewar, a town on the outskirts of Noida, have been dashed. Earlier this year, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) had plans for developing a second airport in NCR, as the Indira Gandhi International Airport is expected to reach a saturation point in terms of capacity in the next five years.

Jewar was finalized as the site for the project. The Uttar Pradesh government had already indicated its willingness to build a domestic airport in Jewar as early as 2012. However, last week, the civil aviation ministry announced that the project will come up in Rajasthan's Bhiwadi instead, which is 92km and 80km away from Noida and Delhi respectively. Noida has already seen the dream of an international airport come to naught twice in the recent past.

In 2012, Jewar had been selected by the UP government as the location for a domestic and international airport, called the Taj International Airport. But the following year, the international airport was shifted to Firozabad. In June 2015, Mahesh Sharma, union minister of state for civil aviation, had said that a proposal for an airport in Greater Noida had been cleared, but this development was later refuted by the government. These developments have left Noidawallahs disappointed as their wait for an international airport in the city continues.

Frequent flyers lament the decisionFrequent flyers rue the decision the most. Akshita Rajan, a senior executive at an MNC in Sector 120, says, "For frequent flyers like me, the airport in Noida would have been a wonderful gift. It is a hassle for me to travel to Delhi airport and spend three hours commuting just to catch a flight. Moreover, it's not just about a random proposal. The airport in Noida was almost finalized and according to news reports, work was to begin shortly."

Akshay Tripathi, a freelance IT professional who travels to Bangalore twice a month, says, "The IGI Airport is already close to the Gurgaon border. Bhiwadi is a further two-hour drive from there. It doesn't make sense to have another airport there. It certainly won't benefit NCR travellers. Residents of East Delhi and Noida need an airport in such an area where it won't take them a couple of hours to reach the airport."

Dhananjay Sharma, a resident of Sector 15, says, "Not just time, it is a question of money as well. Booking a cab to reach the airport which is on the other end of the city adds to the expenses. With so many professionals working in IT companies and MNCs here, there is no dearth of frequent travellers. Having an airport here was completely justified."

The reason of shift is unknown but the decision is baffling, officials sayEven aviation experts say that the move to Bhiwadi is surprising and Noida is the ideal location for a second international airport in NCR. An AAI official, who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity, says, "The existing IGI Airport is close to the residents of south Delhi, west Delhi, Gurgaon and even parts of Central Delhi. So, when the original idea about a second international airport in NCR was proposed, the decision was to have it in Noida, to make it easily accessible to the residents of East Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad. What purpose will an airport in Bhiwadi serve for Delhi residents, is beyond my comprehension."

While the aviation ministry officials are mum about the reason behind Bhiwadi being chosen as the location ahead of Noida, citizens are surprised that Noida was snubbed considering that Mahesh Sharma, union minister of state for civil aviation, is an MP from the city itself. Akshar Singh, a businessman, who lives in Sector 50, says, "If you have the MP from your city as the aviation minister, you expect that the city will benefit from that considering that there was already a proposal to build an airport in the city. Even after that, if another city is chosen over Noida, it is quite disappointing."

Airport would have given a boost to sports and real estate in NoidaAmit Singh, manager of the Greater Noida Stadium, says, "We have been developing Greater Noida as a centre for hosting big sports activities. There are plans to host IPL here as well as a few international cricket matches. In addition, they are also trying to get back Formula One in the city. The biggest roadblock to all this is that the nearest airport is some 60km away. An Indian Soccer League team was willing to practice in Greater Noida, but lack of an airport nearby was the biggest deterrent. I guess the sporting infrastructure in Noida and Greater Noida will suffer the most by not having an airport here."

Prakash Malhotra, a real estate agent from the city, says, "An airport in the city would have meant overall development of the region in terms of infrastructure. Hotels, roads, and housing - everything would improve, which would have been great news for the city. Real estate has been declining in Noida steadily because of land acquisition issues over the past few years. Merely starting the airport project would have infused a new life into the city's real estate business."